2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season
The 2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 94th season of play. The club struggled through the season, made a coaching change and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Regular season Before the start of the season many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens due to the team possessing a healthy Saku Koivu as well as last seasons Hart Trophy winner in Jose Theodore. The team was .500 for the first two months of the season and show very little improvement in December. Players like Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette are slow to produce offense. The two forwards are both sent down for brief stints in the minors. For his part, Jose Theodore’s performance is not up to par with his dream season of a year earlier. Despite the strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire head coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of Habs’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton. Despite Julien’s arrival as head coach, the team is unable to improve its situation. The Habs see their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ends in early March. Even with Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in 5 seasons. The Canadiens ended with a record of 30-35-9-8 and former MVP Theodore had a disappointing season with a record of 20-31-6. Final standings Game log Player stats Regular season Before the start of the season many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens due to the team possessing a healthy Saku Koivu as well as last seasons Hart Trophy winner in Jose Theodore. The team was .500 for the first two months of the season and show very little improvement in December.Players like Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette are slow to produce offense. The two forwards are both sent down for brief stints in the minors. For his part, Jose Theodore’s performance is not up to par with his dream season of a year earlier. Despite the strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in Mid- January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Serge Savard to fire head coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien,who filled the same role behind the bench of Habs’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton.Despite Julien’s arrival as head coach, the team is unable to improve its situation. The Habs see their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ends in early March. Even with Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in 5 seasons. ;Scoring ;Goaltending Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; Awards and records Transactions Roster Draft picks Farm teams See also * 2002–03 NHL season References *Canadiens on Hockey Database *Canadiens on NHL Reference Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons Montreal Canadiens season, 2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season, 2002–03